Chapter 7

Telecommunications, the Internet, and

Wireless Technology

Video cases:
Case 1: Telepresence Moves Out of the Boardrooom and Into the Field
Case 2: Unified Communications Systems: Virtual Collaboration with Lotus
Sametime

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 Management Information Systems, Global Edition
Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

Telecommunications and Networking in Today’s Business World

• Networking and Communication Trends

– Convergence:
• Telephone networks and computer networks converging
into single digital network using Internet standards
– Broadband:
• More than 68% U.S. Internet users have broadband
access
– Broadband wireless:
• Voice, data communication are increasingly taking place
over broadband wireless platforms

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

Telecommunications and Networking in Today’s Business World

• Computer network
– Two or more connected computers
– Major components in simple network
• Client and server computers
• Network interfaces (NICs)
• Connection medium
• Network operating system
• Hubs, switches, routers
– Software-defined networking (SDN)
• Functions of switches and routers managed by central program

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

Telecommunications and Networking in Today’s Business World

• Key digital networking technologies

– Client/server computing
• Distributed computing model
• Clients linked through network controlled by network
server computer
• Server sets rules of communication for network and
provides every client with an address so others can find
it on the network
• Has largely replaced centralized mainframe computing
• The Internet: largest implementation of client/server
computing

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

Communications Networks

• Signals: Digital versus analog

– Modem: translates digital signals into analog form (and
vica versa)
• Types of networks
– Local-area networks (LANs)
• Ethernet
• Client/server vs. peer-to-peer
– Wide-area networks (WANs)
– Metropolitan-area networks (MANs)
– Campus area networks (CANs)

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

Functions of the Modem

Figure 7-5 A modem is a device that translates digital signals into analog form (and vice versa) so that computers can
transmit data over analog networks such as telephone and cable networks.

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• What is the Internet?

• Internet addressing and architecture
– IP addresses
• The Domain name system (DNS)
– Converts IP addresses to domain names
– Hierarchical structure
– Top-level domains
• Internet architecture and governance
– No formal management: IAB, ICANN, W3C
– The future Internet: IPv6 and Internet2

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Domain Name System

The Domain Name System is a

hierarchical system with a root
domain, top-level domains,
second-level domains, and host
computers at the third level.

Figure 7-6

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• Internet services
– E-mail
– Chatting and instant messaging
– Electronic discussion groups / newsgroups
– Telnet
– File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
– World Wide Web
– VoIP
– Virtual private network (VPN)

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• The Web
– Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
– Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP):
• Communications standard used for transferring Web
pages
– Uniform resource locators (URLs):
• Addresses of Web pages
– http://www.megacorp.com/content/features/082602.html
– Web servers
– Software for locating and managing Web pages

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• Search engines
– Started as simpler programs using keyword indexes
– Google improved indexing and created page ranking
system
• Mobile search: 20% of all searches in 2012
• Search engine marketing
– Major source of Internet advertising revenue
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
– Adjusting Web site and traffic to improve rankings in
search engine results

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• Social search
– Google +1, Facebook Like
• Semantic search
– Anticipating what users are looking for rather than
simply returning millions of links
• Intelligent agent shopping bots
– Use intelligent agent software for searching Internet
for shopping information

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• Web 2.0
– Second-generation services
– Enabling collaboration, sharing information, and
creating new services online
– Features
• Interactivity
• Real-time user control
• Social participation (sharing)
• User-generated content

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

– Web 2.0 services and tools

• Blogs: chronological, informal Web sites created by
individuals
– RSS (Really Simple Syndication): syndicates Web content so
aggregator software can pull content for use in another setting
or viewing later
– Blogosphere
– Microblogging
• Wikis: collaborative Web sites where visitors can add,
delete, or modify content on the site
• Social networking sites: enable users to build
communities of friends and share information

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Global Internet

• Web 3.0: The “Semantic Web”

– A collaborative effort led by W3C to add layer of
meaning to the existing Web
– Goal is to reduce human effort in searching for and
processing information
– Making Web more “intelligent” and intuitive
– Increased communication and synchronization with
computing devices, communities
– “Web of things”
– Increased cloud computing, mobile computing

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Wireless Revolution

• Cellular systems
– Competing standards
• CDMA: United States only
• GSM: Rest of world, AT&T, T-Mobile
– Third-generation (3G) networks
• 144 Kbps
• Suitable for e-mail access, Web browsing
– Fourth-generation (4G) networks
• Up to 100 Mbps
• Suitable for Internet video

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Wireless Revolution

• Wireless computer networks and Internet

access
– Bluetooth (802.15)
• Links up to 8 devices in 10-m area using low-power, radio-based
communication
• Useful for personal networking (PANs)
– Wi-Fi (802.11)
• Set of standards: 802.11
• Used for wireless LAN and wireless Internet access
• Use access points: device with radio receiver/transmitter for
connecting wireless devices to a wired LAN

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Wireless Revolution

• Wireless computer networks and Internet

access
– Wi-Fi (cont.)
• Hotspots: one or more access points in public place to
provide maximum wireless coverage for a specific area
• Weak security features
– WiMax (802.16)
• Wireless access range of 31 miles
• Require WiMax antennas

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Wireless Revolution

• Radio frequency identification (RFID)

– RFID tags:
• Tiny tags with embedded microchips contain data about an item
and location
• Transmit radio signals over short distances to RFID readers
– RFID readers:
• Send data over network to computer for processing
– Active RFID:
• Tags have batteries
• Data can be rewritten
• Range is hundreds of feet

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Chapter 7: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

The Wireless Revolution

• RFID (cont.)
– Passive RFID:
• Range is shorter
• Smaller, less expensive
• Powered by radio frequency energy
– Common uses:
• Automated toll-collection
• Tracking goods in a supply chain
– Requires companies to have special hardware and
software
– Reduction in cost of tags making RFID viable for many
firms

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